For median wage earners, state women make $10,000 less than men

Wisconsin has the 27th widest gap in the nation between what women and men earn, according to a new study by the American Association of University Women.

The median annual full-time earnings for men in Wisconsin was $46,890 in 2012, while women earned $36,535 — a gap of 22%, the study found, using the most recent information available from the U.S. Census Bureau.

It isn't news that men are paid more than women over their lifetimes. But the study set out to explore what's behind the gap.

Are women paid less because they choose lower-paying jobs? Is it because more women work part-time than men do? Or is it because women tend to be the primary caregivers for their children?

A 7% difference in the earnings of male and female college graduates one year after graduation is still unexplained after accounting for college major, occupation, economic sector, hours worked, months unemployed since graduation, GPA, type of undergraduate institution, institution selectivity, age, geographical region and marital status, according to the Graduating to a Pay Gap study.

Similarly, the study found a 12% unexplained difference in earnings among full-time workers 10 years after college graduation. Other researchers have also found that the gender pay gap is not fully accounted for by women's and men's choices.

Nationally, the pay gap hasn't budged in a decade.

Wyoming has the worst pay gap, according to the study.

Editor's Note: An earlier version of this story said that Wisconsin was one of five states with no equal-pay law on the books. That claim, based on research by the National Conference of State Legislatures, was examined by PolitiFact Wisconsin on April 14, 2014, and rated false.

About Karen Herzog

Karen Herzog covers higher education. She also has covered public health and was part of a national award-winning team that took on Milwaukee's infant mortality crisis.